STEVEN THOMPSON was totally taken aback by the sportsmanship shown by Inverness defender Gary Warren at the weekend.

The 35-year-old St Mirren striker had just slid in on the Caley star and whistler Calum Murray was poised to caution him when Warren jumped up and pleaded with the referee to keep his yellow card in his pocket.

In a time when diving is far too common in football and players often flash imaginary cards at officials in the hope of getting rivals booked, it was a moment to savour when Warren told the ref he hadn’t been touched.

And after the match Thompson was eager to highlight the actions of the Caley Thistle defender.

He said: “It was top drawer and I hold him in high esteem for that.

“It would have been easy to play-act or try to get me booked.

“It was great sportsmanship from a very decent guy. You have to take your hat off to him.

“You don’t see it very often, do you? It’s a refreshing change from seeing people dive and play-act.

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“I thank him – it is was brilliant. He was honest enough to get up and say, ‘He didn’t touch me’ so I was delighted he did it.”

The pre-match talk was all about how John Hughes would cope in the Caley Thistle hotseat after replacing Terry Butcher.

His side was second best in the first half but Saints couldn’t make their possession count.

Thompson saw an early shot on the turn superbly saved by keeper Dean Brill after a wonderful move involving John McGinn, Paul McGowan, Conor Newton and Jason Naismith.

Thompson was again denied later in the half when he latched on to a McGowan pass and had his drive superbly turned on to a post by Brill.

The outstanding Brill also kept out Kenny McLean’s fine free-kick before Inverness began to grow into the game after the break.

Aaron Doran drew a decent stop from Saints keeper Marian Kello before Marley Watkins nodded a header against a post after great work from Warren in the box.

Neither side could edge ahead, though, so both teams left with a point and their solid recent runs still intact.

The Buddies have lost just once in nine games. Thompson said: “We dominated the first half which is excellent.

“That is the best we’ve probably played in terms of passing the ball in a number of weeks.

“We were unlucky and I suppose I’ll be getting the blame for that – I’m disappointed I didn’t manage to score.”

The match was also a milestone for Thompson as he was playing his 100th game for Saints – not that he knew it.

He added: “I didn’t actually know that – but I am obviously delighted. It is a nice wee milestone to reach.”

Inverness are now unbeaten in six and new boss Hughes knows one man kept that run in tact.

Yogi said: “We have Dean Brill to thank for keeping us in it with some really top-class saves.”

And Caley fans will be glad to know Hughes plans on following the model of his predecessor.

He added: “We’ll keep going the way it was under Terry Butcher – if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”